


Providence

by AzzyJ94



Category: Criminal Minds, Supernatural
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-22
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2017-12-12 14:37:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/812686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzzyJ94/pseuds/AzzyJ94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Cas have settled into a relatively normal life but now they are targets to a very different kind of monster and they have to let a new kind of hunter help keep them and their family safe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

After Sam died, Dean took his baby brother's advice. He went to Lisa and Ben. When she opened that door, Dean could barely hold back the tears because when she smiled at him, completely unaffected by the earth shattering sense of loss that had gripped Dean's heart since he watch Sammy jump, he knew he was already gone for her and the guilt that came with that was unbelievable. 

 

They spent the months after that piecing together a life they could share, but what surprised Dean the most was Ben.  He’d already known that he loved Lisa, but that kid.  Immediately after Dean moved in with them, even before he and Lisa where sharing a room, Ben accepted Dean's presence as if he'd been waiting on the man to come home.  Really, it was home. He, Lisa, and Ben were a family and he was happy with that. Then, only ten months after Dean lost Sam, his world was crushed under fate's big toe, yet again.  

He got the call at six fifteen on a Saturday. Lisa was running late coming home from the grocery store, and Dean was just getting anxious when his phone rang. It was the hospital. Lisa had been hit in a head on collision. Dean had grabbed Ben and rushed to the hospital.

 

The two of them had sat in the surgery waiting room for nearly six hours. Lisa's sister, Kim showed up about halfway through sitting in silent vigil with the small family.  When the nurse came out in her bright pink scrubs, the surgical mask hanging down from her neck, Kim went to greet her while Dean pulled an eleven-year-old Ben (who'd been curled in the man's lap for hours), closer to him. The small-ish woman gave Kim a grim look and shook her head before talking in low tones, but she didn’t have to explain anything.  Dean already knew.  Lisa was gone.

 

The days immediately following Lisa's death are still a blur to Dean. He remembers Ben, crawling in bed with him every single night. He remembers everyone telling him how sorry they were, and asking how he was handling it.  He remembers having no response. He remembers that he didn't speak, not once, until Kim approached him, and asked if he thought maybe Ben would be better off living with her.

 

Dean found his voice, then, and he'd shouted himself hoarse. Kim had backed off and signed the papers. That's when Dean realized he hadn't been to work in nearly a month, and Ben's school attendance was less than stellar. Dean was drowning in his own grief, just like his dad had done, and Dean was not going to turn into his father, so, he packed them up and moved in with Bobby.

 

At first, it wasn't the most comfortable set up. Bobby and Ben got along great, but Dean wasn't exactly sure how much of the supernatural he wanted Ben to be aware of.  Obviously, the boy had been clued in to some degree but putting that kind of burden on all of his kid’s shoulder wasn’t something Dean wanted to do.  But, he couldn’t exactly keep the kids out of the books in Bobby’s library.  They couldn’t keep him in the dark and they had to tell him everything, but Dean told him point blank that he would _not_ be hunting.  Ever. 

Then tension was high for a while, but they managed to get through with the agreement that Ben would graduate both high school and college before even considering pursuing hunting and they moved on. 

 

Again, just when Dean's life was settling into some semblance of normal, everything was turned upside down, again. Two days after Ben's twelfth birthday, Castiel showed up at Singer's auto salvage half carrying, half dragging the limp form of a teenage boy with him. The kid was tall and skinny with shaggy brown hair and Dean had to stop the tears that were already forming in his eyes because this kid?  He looked like Sammy.  Of course, because they were Winchesters and nothing in their lives could ever be normal, it _was_ Sammy.  Dean did cry when Cas told.  (Dean would later argue that they were very manly tears.) 

 

Once Dean had finished every test within the human spectrum to ensure that this kid was in fact Sammy and not some kind of shifter demon thing, he turned on Cas demanding an explanation.  When Sam jumped, Cas was able to extract the man’s soul from his body before he fell into the pit.  However, his body was lost and without a place for the soul to go, the only options were to allow the soul to wander after Dean and possibly become vengeful, or build him a new body.  Cas chose option B. 

It was a long and challenging process made more difficult by the raging war in Heaven.  Raphael had assembled an army both willing and able to fight for him, but Castiel had numbers on his side and as they fought, Castiel began rebuilding Sam. Sam’s body grew much like an embryo wrapped in the protection of Heaven.  However, merging both body and soul was a difficult process that Castiel could not do at once.  As the body grew, the soul merged with it regenerating the memories of Sam’s life.  However, before the regrowth could be complete, Raphael fled heaven and left Cas almost completely powerless.  He was able to merge Sam’s soul completely, but the body was left somewhere around fourteen.  Sam remembered his life, but much of it was still blurry. 

 

The boy healed up, and his mind seemed to stay intact. Cas and Sam moved in with Bobby, Dean, and Ben. They enrolled Sam in school and Cas was able to work his lingering mojo into clearing up a few things with Dean and Sam, and making things legal. He wasn’t able to erase the world’s memories of the mass-murderers Sam and Dean Winchester, but he did alter the perceived image of them, and he was able to create new identities for himself, Dean and Sam.  He gave himself a degree in theology and began giving an occasional guest lecture at the local community colleges, but most of the time, he stayed home with Sam and Ben.

 

So, Dean, as the sole breadwinner of the family (He'd opened his own garage on the other side of town), found himself away from home more and more often.  He and Cas became a team, planning their meals, activities, bills, house repairs, and all the little details of day to day life.  Then, more and more, Dean found himself enjoying his time with Cas, until he had an epiphany. Those moments, sitting up late bullshitting and drinking way too much coffee until Cas shoved a cup of hot tea in his hands and ordered him to bed, was the part of his day he looked forward to the most. Those stolen moments alone with Cas were the best parts of his day right up there with making dinner with Sammy and watching both of his kids playing video games in their room together. 

 

Dean didn't fall in love with Cas the same way he fell in love with Lisa. It was slow and steady. He didn't just want to spend time with the other man.  He couldn't imagine his life away from him. Finally, after months, Dean told Cas how he felt and Cas shocked everyone.  He leaned in close to the other man and Dean felt his breath catch in his throat, because Dean could smell the peppermint toothpaste on Cas’ breath before Cas closed the distance between them and brushed his lips against Dean’s in a slow warm kiss.  "It's about damn time you admitted it."  He murmured in a rather impressive impression of Dean. 

Ben happened to walk in at that moment and decided that if he got two dads they needed their own monikers (Sam’s word not his) and declared Dean as ‘Dad’ and Cas as ‘Pop’.  The names stuck pretty quickly. 

 

Shortly after that, Dean, Cas, Sam and Ben moved into their own place closer to town, and Bobby became the eccentric grandfather to their strange little family.

Six months, almost to the day, after the wedding, Dean and Cas were babysitting for some friends of Bobby’s.  (Their house was much more childproof.)  Jake and Katie were siblings.  Jake was only a year old and Katie only five.  This was not the first the couple had found themselves babysitting for other hunters.  They didn’t approve of raising your kids in the life but they couldn’t turn down being a safe haven for them.  Unfortunately, their worst fears came true when the children’s parents were killed by the poltergeist they were hunting.  Dean took care of the spirit and Dean and Cas adopted the kids. 

 

Cas was a mostly stay-at-home dad until Jake started pre-school, and he discovered a love for reading constantly immersing himself in a world of humanity and the like and loving every second of it.  He got a ‘second’ degree in literature and began teaching that instead.  (He got less strange looks for his views on the symbolism of ancient literature than his ‘beliefs’ about ancient deities.) 

 

Dean ran his garage and gained several friends in his employees. He and two of the men under him went out for beers every other Tuesday, and he became especially close to one such employee. 

Charlie was a good man.  He’d run his own garage for nearly forty years before retiring with his wife, Martha.  After her death, he wanted back in the business and Dean gave him the job on the spot.  The old man was kind and took to Dean’s kids and even Bobby quickly. It was like having a grandfather for the first time in his life, and Dean didn’t mind adding to his own ragtag family. 

 

Sammy was reliving high school including but not limited to honor roll, soccer, and a best friend named Tammy.  He was unabashedly proud of his role in the school play and even tried band for one semester.  (The trumpet was just not his thing but there was a cute saxophonist in the second row that he paid more attention to than the band director.)

 

Ben played football on the JV team and had all the girls fawning over him by the end of his first year there. He got in more trouble than he knew how to get out of but at least he got it honestly.  Dean wondered how the boy wasn’t his but then he remembered a certain bendy brunette with her own love of rock music and a glint of mischief in her eyes, and he’d smile sadly at his boy. 

 

Katie was a bright little girl who loved to read, just like her poppa.  Of course that could have something to do with the fact that she had been read to every night since first meeting Castiel.  She bonded with Sam especially after she started school.  They shared a love of school. 

Jake was the youngest and he loved every second of it. He idolized his big brothers and his Daddy and Poppa were just about the best thing ever.  Katie was the prettiest and smartest big sister a boy could ask for and you couldn’t have found a happier five year old alive. 

 

Domestic Life suited the Winchesters well, very well…

 

Until something came in and screwed it all up


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dean's day starts perfectly and ends tragically.

 

 

 Beautiful Loser blared from the alarm clock and Den heard Cas groan next to him. A ghost of a smirk flitted across his face as he shut it off before rolling into the other man. His arms wrapped around Cas as he laid gentle kisses along his neck stopping just below his ear.  He felt Cas snuggled back against him and his smiled deepened. 

 

"Time to get up." He whispered. Cas simply grunted and burrowed even further into his husband.  Dean chuckled to himself before nudging the man’s side with his finger.  “You have a lecture today." The only response was a deep throated growl and Cas rolling over and smashing his face into his chest.

 

"Why do we work again?" Cas murmured into the soft skin there.

 

"The neighbors might get suspicious if we never left our beds and still managed to keep the lights on."

 

"I'm okay with letting them wonder." Cas replied while his fingers threaded through Dean's .

 

Before Dean could reply, the door burst open to reveal Katie and Jake who bound into the room and pounced on the bed with the amount of excitement only young children seemed to posess.

 

"Daddy! I've got school!" The boy yipped as he bounced next to his sister.

 

"You've been spending too much time with Sammy, Jake." Dean chuckled and Cas gently slapped at his arm.

 

"He's entitled to his excitement." Cas said as Dean pulled himself into a sitting position.

 

"Poppa's right, Daddy.”  Katie said adamantly.  “School is fun and Kindergarten is the best! We used finger paints and took naps and played games."

 

"Really? Games and naps and finger painting?" Dean asked with what he was sure was a very dopey grin on his face.

 

Dean looked over to find Cas still very much horizontal. He pulled Jake and Katie close to whisper to them while gesturing wildly at his lazing husband.

 

Cas narrowed his eyes at them but didn't have time for anything else before two small forms were jumping on him with much more enthusiasm than he thought strictly necessary for the hour. 

 

"Wake up, Poppa! Wake up!” They chanted together. Dean chuckled as he slipped out of bed. He passed Ben's door first, and he knocked. When no answer was forthcoming, he opened the door to find his fifteen-year-old still fast asleep. A mischievous grin graced his lips as he approached the bed. "Ben," Dean whispered purposefully quiet. There was no response and the grin turned into a full blown smile as he reached over and yanked the covers off his son. Ben squeaked and lunged after them before realizing what was happening and falling back against the bed with a groan. 

 

"Why, Dad? Just…why?" He moaned dramatically. Dean couldn’t help the peal of laughter that escaped. 

 

"Because, Ben, you've gotta get a shower and if I didn't wake you up first, you'd complain about not having any hot water."

 

"Not my fault Sammy's a shower hog." Ben grumbled as he shook his head back and forth in an attempt to rouse himself.

 

"Just get up. Breakfast in twenty, alright?"  Dean asked as he left the room

 

"Yeah, thanks.”  Dean shut the door and headed towards Sam's room. It was really awkward when Cas had first shown up with him. The last time he'd seen his brother, he'd been a thirty year-old-man with muscles and stubble and more snark than any one person had a right to. Then, his baby brother showed up on his doorstep no more than fourteen years old and Dean didn't know what the hell to do. He still thought like an adult half the time, but the rest of the time he was very much the rebellious teenager Dean remembered. They'd butted heads some in the beginning, but Bobby had played referee, and, surprisingly Cas was the biggest help with his calm words and logical arguments; they undid the kid every single time.

 

That was little over three years ago and now Dean's baby brother had become his son more so even than when Dean had played parent growing up.

 

So, Dean went into his oldest's room to find him on his laptop typing furiously. "It's the first day of school. What the hell are you working on, already?"

 

Sam's head shot up. "I'm messaging a friend." He replied looking slightly confused.

 

"Right, well, breakfast in twenty. Ben's in the shower but you're up next."

 

" M'kay." Sam's attention was already back on the screen in front of him.

 

"You need to be at the table when we are even if you don't have to be at school as early. Geekboy with college classes and off periods," the last was muttered as Dean left. Dean shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen and began pulling things out for breakfast.

 

He'd just put a third perfect circle onto the griddle when he heard little footsteps on the stairs as his youngest two came barreling into the entryway. A moment later, he felt long arms wrap around his waist."

 

"Good morning," Cas whispered into his ear, warm breath tickling the fine hairs on the back of his neck.

 

"Morning," Dean replied as he flipped yet another pancake onto the ever growing stack.

 

"What are your plans for today?" Cas asked as his lips traced down along Dean's neck.

 

"I'm gonna open up the shop around eleven. Charlie'll be there by eleven thirty. Couple repairs and whatever walk-ins we get. What about you?"

 

"I'm taking Jake and Katie to school, then I'll come back and get ready for my lecture about nine-thirty"

 

"So, we'll have almost an hour to ourselves?" Dean asked with a quirk of his brow as he turned around in his husband's arms. Their heads fell together and Dean was content to stay just like that for the rest of forever. Cas leaned in toward him, their lips barely brushing before Sam's voice interrupted them.

 

"Geez, guys. Get a room, would you?" Dean lifted his head and shot his little brother a dirty look.

 

"This is our room. The whole damn house is ours." Sam made a face but grabbed a plate of pancakes and dropped into one of the chairs.

 

"I've got cross-country 'til four." He informed them as Ben came into the room with Jake directly on his heels and Katie just around the corner.

 

"But football doesn't even start 'til four thirty." Ben complained. "How am I supposed to get there?"

 

"Cas'll be off in time to pick you up and one of us will take you to practice tonight." Ben could only manage a nod because his mouth was full of pancakes and bacon.

 

The ride to the shop was uneventful. There was only the sound of his baby and good music to fill the silence. Dean went around the side to go in the side door and felt himself tense when he noticed the alarm had already been disabled. He hadn't carried a gun on him a while (not since the apocalypse) He hadn't needed to, really, and he doubted that the kids' schools would have approved of a nine mill tucked under his shirt. So, he pulled the knife out of his boot and headed into the shop feeling highly unprepared.

 

Three steps in and he the tell-tale sounds of something moving in shallow water caught his attention. He spun around the dimly-lit room to find Charlie, lying in a pool of water and blood attempting to roll over. Dean was at his side immediately.

 

"Charlie?" Dean asked, checking the older man's wrist for a pulse. He found it, but it was weak. "Charlie? Hey, man, can you hear me?"

 

Charlie released a weak gargle and Dean tried to understand but he couldn't make out the words . Charlie's eyes rolled back in his head and Dean felt the older man's heart stutter and still beneath his fingertips.

 

"Damnit!" Dean growled as he pulled out his cell to call the cops. That's when he noticed it. Tacked to Charlie's shirt was a sticky note covered in blood. Written on it: _Guilty by Association_


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the team meets the Campbells, and unrealistic promises are made.

Aaron awoke with a heavy yet comfortingly familiar weight on his chest. He blinked up to find Jack sitting on him, waiting patiently for his father to transition into consciousness. His weekend was just starting and he planned to make the most of it.

"Good morning, Daddy!" Jack announced, grinning cheerfully.

"Morning, Buddy. What are you doing up so early?"

"I'm hungry."

A line appeared between Aaron's brows as he feigned confusion. "Hungry?" Jack nodded and in one swift movement, Aaron had flipped the boy off his chest and was tickling him while he laughed. "Who's hungry and what have you done with Jack?"

"DADDY," came the delighted sounds.

"Jack? Is that you?"

"Yes, Daddy, it's me!" Jack practically squealed in delight.

"Oh, in that case," Aaron said as he stopped his assault.

"Can we eat now, daddy?"

"How does French toast sound?"

"I love French toast."

"Good choice then."

Fifteen minutes later found Jack sitting at a bar stool in the kitchen watching as his dad dipped the first piece of bread into the egg mixture and laid it in the pan. His phone rang. When he picked it up, 'Strauss' came into view. Aaron barely contained a pained sigh. His weekend was over before it could really start.

Once the team had gathered around the table, Garcia stood before them to preset yet another gruesome case.

"Right, kiddies, we have one sick puppy on our hands. We've got a total of twenty-two victims spreading from to Georgia to Iowa since 2009.

"On November second, Lidia Anderson, 62, was shot execution style in her home, a sticky note actually tacked into her forehead with the word Guilty By association.

Two days later, a local teacher, Robert Train, 30, was found murdered in his home with the same single gunshot wound to the back of the head. Sticky note tacked into the skin of the forehead.

Two days after that, Lily Schulls, 28, and her partner Dana Anderson, 25 (Daughter of our first vic), were found beaten and tortured inside their home. Their eight year old son, Ruban, was found a few hours later. He was dropped off at a local Catholic church; St. William's to be exact. Father Michaels, said the boy was left on the doorstep bound and gagged with a sticky note pinned to his shirt and a red orchid on the ground nearby."

"God has spoken?" Morgan asked incredulously from his side of the room looking intently at the picture of the sticky note.

"Apparently, he talks to a lot of people. There have been five other cases so far one a year on the same dates, November second through the fifth, and we think we know who the unsub's next target is." Hotch responded.

Garcia clicked her remote and a picture of a smiling couple, much like the others before them, appeared. Two men stood in front of a small white house. Both men were in their early thirties. On their right stood a boy of about seventeen, though he was as tall as the blond man, to their left was another boy, about fifteen with dark brown hair and eyes, and he had his arm around a third boy of about seven and a blonde girl stood in the middle of it all. An older man stood in the background looking on the family with a warm smile.

Garcia introduced the smiling family. "Meet the Campbells, partners Dean and Castiel, Dean's younger brother Sam, and their three kids Ben, Katelyn and Jacob."

"Why do we think these are the targets? There are more kids than we've seen in any of the other cases and the ages are all different. Aside from the first victims, none of the children have been older four or five." Rossi commented.

"True, but our unsub has already started the cycle again. He's already killed his first victim." The click of a button and the picture of a man appeared on the screen. He was older, late seventies maybe.

"This is Charles Everett. He'd recently been made partner at Dean's garage." Aaron explained. "We know our unsub is attacking homosexual couples with children. We know he has a religious psychosis and we know that the cycle is the key to these kills. That makes the Campbells the only viable suspect given the victim."

Reid's brows scrunched together. "If they already have a general profile on the unsub and they know who the next target is why do they need us?"

"The profile isn't complete. They've known this much since '09. They haven't been able to stop him yet and the Sioux Falls police department thinks we can help. While we're there we'll be serving as protection as well."

"We gotta work a case and babysit." Morgan asked incredulously.

"Essentially."

"Great."

Hotch only shrugged. "Wheels up in thirty."

"What gift has providence bestowed on man that is so dear to him as his children?"

~ Markus Tullious Cicero

On the plane…

"So, to know where and when the unsub is going to attack next, we need to get to know the family: their lives, and routines. Morgan, you and Reid take the first protective detail and start interviewing the family. Rossi, Prentiss and I will meet up with the local PD to set up surveillance. J.J. you'll need to prepare a statement for the local news stations. We've been able to keep this story from going national, but that won't last long if those reporters get all the details."

Everyone nodded in agreement and went back to examining the case files before Garcia's smiling face appeared on the numerous screens.

"Watcha got for us baby girl?"

"Well, sweet cheeks mostly a whole lot of nothing for the most part. Dean's got a couple of juvie records for shoplifting but nothing major. Cas seems clean as a whistle and nothing unusual about the oldest two kids."

"What about the younger ones?"

"Well, their parents' COD is a little wonky."

"Wonky can describe a lot of things baby girl."

"Yeah, how's simultaneous asphyxiation for you?"

"Simultaneous?"

"Yeah. We're talking down to the second as to when they died."

"How did the Campbells end up with the kids?" Hotch asked from his side of the plane

"Apparently they were friends with the Martins and were actually babysitting the kids at the time. When the courts found no living relatives, and saw the already happy family, they signed custody over to Dean and Castiel Campbell."

"Is it possible that this family was the target all along?" Rossi asked

Reid shook his head. "We haven't found a connection between the other victims so far and none of them have a connection with the Campbell's as far as we can tell."

Prentiss spoke up. "So, we're looking at a hate crime?"

"That's what it looks like." Hotch said quietly.

Silence fell.

Dean Winchester had done a lot of illegal shit in his time. He'd done a lot more immoral things than he'd done illegal, so it was completely reasonable to assume that having two feds sitting on his couch the day after a good friend's funeral was unnerving. Add to that the fact that the skinny one could give Sam a run for his money with the little boy lost thing, and you got a very uncomfortable Dean.

However, the local police chief had been out the day before to inform him that the FBI thought he and Cas were the next targets of a serial killer because obviously when a guy closes the gates of hell and kills the mother of all while still getting his kids to school on time, he needs a stalking serial killer to go after his friends too.

So, there were feds sitting on his couch waiting for Cas to bring in drinks and hoping that his kids were doing okay upstairs. When Cas did finally deign to enter, he came with an entire tray full of drinks. Dean thought he'd been watching way too much Donna Reed lately. Each fed inclined his head slightly as he was offered a drink.

The big guy, Morgan, spoke first. "What was your relationship with Mr. Everett?"

Dean smiled slightly at hearing Charlie addressed as Mr. Everett. The man had worked with him since he'd opened his own shop, and no one had ever called him anything but Charlie. "We were business partners."

"Was that a new development?" The scrawny guy, Reid, interjected.

"Kind of. Charlie and me worked together for about a year before I made him a legal partner. It was mostly just paperwork. He'd always been a partner as far as I was concerned." Dean felt Cas lean ever so slightly closer and he couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips. Cas was always right there.

"Mr. Campbell, how much did Sheriff Mills tell you about the case?"

"Not much. She said they think a psycho is looking at my family and that that's why Charlie died." A bitter edge had slipped into Dean's voice.

Both Reid and Morgan were prepared to give reassurances but Cas beat them to it looking Dean in the eye and speaking quietly but firmly. "This is not your fault, Dean. Do not blame yourself any more than you would blame me." Dean visibly flinched but nodded his ascent nonetheless. He looked back at the agents but was visibly blushing and avoiding eye contact.

Finally, after several uncomfortable seconds, Dean met Morgan's and then Reid's eyes and asked, "What are you gonna do about this?"

Morgan recognized the challenge in the man's tone. It wasn't the first time his team had been given a silent ultimatum by the target of something like this and Morgan knew exactly what he needed to say. "We're going to catch this guy."


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dean blows up, Sam doesn't listen and Reid observes.

Cas felt Dean stiffen at his side. "Big talk. You got any reason for me to believe that? As far as I can tell you people lose more psychos than you actually catch, so excuse me if I don't just believe that you're gonna swoop in and save the day." Dean hissed at the older man.

Reid watched the outburst without comment. Dean hadn't seemed very cooperative to begin with, but one false assurance and he was ready for battle. It was something Reid often associated with soldiers after they returned home. The slightest irritant would set off a storm of anger. Both he and Morgan were ready to attempt to fix the situation when there was a banging sound from the kitchen. Morgan was already drawing his gun when Dean waved him down.

Reid was surprised to see Dean forcefully rein in his anger before he called out. "Come on out, Sammy, Ben."

Only a moment later, two boys emerged from the kitchen looking sheepish. Reid recognized both from the picture. The taller obviously being Sam and the other Ben. Dean was standing now putting himself between his children and the agents.

"There some part of 'no eavesdropping you two didn't understand?" Dean practically growled.

"No, Sir." The boys responded together.

"You wanna tell me why you thought it'd be a good idea to do it anyway?" Ben just shrugged but Reid saw the same tensing of shoulders in Sam that he'd seen in Dean a moment before.

"We have a right to know, Dean. Charlie was important to us too. We loved him too. You can't just keep us out of the loop." Sam was yelling by the end of his tirade and breathing hard. He was obviously upset but it was apparently not the first time the brothers had had this argument because while Dean showed a moment of upset, he quickly reverted to annoyance again.

"You done with your tantrum, now?" He asked flatly trying to keep from yelling himself.

"It's not a tantrum, Dean. It's the truth and you know it." Sam hissed. Castiel rose then and went to stand beside Dean. He whispered into the other man's ear and Dean took a deep breath before nodding.

"We'll talk about this later, Sammy. I ant both of you upstairs until me or Cas come to get you, got it?"

Before Sam could let out another biting remark, Ben spoke up.

"Sam's right, Dad. We deserve to know."

Cas managed to respond before Dean snapped at the younger boy. "And you will know everything that you need to know when you need to know it." Sam's face contorted in annoyance at that statement.

"Fine, treat us like infants, but, Dean; just remember how this need to know crap worked out for Dad."

Dean sighed as both Sam and Ben stormed up the stairs. Morgan cleared his throat and Cas turned to face them as Dean headed toward the back door.

"Anger is part of the grieving process." Reid said and Cas smiled weakly at that.

"You'll have to excuse them. This has been… difficult for all of us."

Morgan nodded his understanding. "We understand that and if there's anything we can do for you, let us know." Cas nodded his thanks and there was a small pause before Morgan spoke up again. "Whenever you and your husband are ready, we need to ask you both some questions."

"What kind of questions." Castiel asked.

Reid cut in then to explain. "Just some questions about your routine, any particular religious affiliations, your places of work, and so on. It's part of what we call victimology-"

Sam's voice sounded from the staircase. "We know what that is, Agent. You find out everything you can about every victim and find the connections. It makes a giant web of information and at the center of that web is the motive for picking these victims.:

" I told you to go upstairs, Sammy." Dean said as he reentered the room.

"Too Bad." Sam retorted angrily before escorting himself to the couch and taking a seat.

Dean looked ready to haul the boy bodily from the room when Cas spoke up. "What do you need to know, specifically?" Dean huffed but joined his husband and brother on the couch.

"We need to focus on what you have in common with the other victims, because there are so many differences between your family and the others." Morgan explained.

Dean and Sam seemed to be nodding in unison and Castiel's brow was scrunched in thought. Dean spoke first. "Yeah, that was something id didn't really get. All of the others were a hell of a lot younger than us. They had two kids tops. I mean I get that we fit the whole gay thin but dude's been a hell of a lot more specific before now. It's not like we're the only gay guys in the area."

"We're not really sure why he chose your family. We think the unsub is getting closer to losing control and may be verging on a spree."

"Fan-friggin-tastic." Dean grumbled to himself. "Dude's been at it for six years and of course when he shows up here he has to lose that whole control freak thing and start getting sloppy."

"Dean, you're not helping." Sam said from his side of the couch.

"And you're supposed to be upstairs." Dean bit out before turning his glare on the two agents in his living room. "And why the hell do we need to tell you this shit? Shouldn't you have it on file or something."

"Our technical analyst is working on putting all of the information we have on the other victims into some semblance of order, and it will save time to ask you directly. At this point, every minute we can save could potentially help."

The wind had been sufficiently knocked out of Dean's sails and he glared once before nodding at the men giving his permission to ask.


	5. Chapter 4

Jody was just starting a fresh pot of coffee when they arrived. They entered the room with a sense of purpose and an air of determination that she wasn’t surprised by in the least. They had a reputation much like Bobby’s boys. They were here to do their job and save people’s lives and they would do whatever it took to do just that. She left the conference room to greet them.   
Standing in front of the small group was a severe looking man in a grey suit. To his right stood an older man with a black mustache and goatee. Behind him were two more agents, both young and female. One had an air of surety in her movements that could only have been borne from a long career in the field and the other had a reassuring look on her face ready to mitigate any hurt feelings. The man in the front extended his hand first.   
“I’m agent Aaron Hotchner, and my team Agents Rossi, Prentiss, and Jereau. Agent Morgan and Doctor Reid are with the family now.”   
Jody shook his hand in turn. “Jody Mills. I’m the sheriff. We’ve set up a conference room for you. I believe it was Agent Jereau I spoke with on the phone?” At both Hotchner’s and Jereau’s nods, she continued. “We didn’t have any glass boards but we’ve got two roll away whiteboards and the windows’ll clean if you need to use them. Other than that. We’ve got hard copies of the case files here to review.”  
“Thank you, Sheriff. Your cooperation is more helpful than you realize.”   
“Yeah well, those boys have been through enough. Anything I can do to help catch this bastard I will.”  
That caught Hotch’s attention. “You know the Campbells?”   
Jody blinked. She supposed it had never come up that she was married to their surrogate father. “I’ve known ‘em for a few years now, yeah. My husband is a good friend of theirs.”   
Hotchner simply nodded and Jody led the team into the conference room. Agent Reid immediately began to set up one board with a map of the area along with one that covered the entirety of the killer’s attacks. Agent Jereau left soon after to finish her statement for the press and Agent Rossi began pulling out the old case files.   
“Sheriff Mills?” He asked, pulling her out of her observations. When her attention was fully on the man in front of her. “How much do you know about the unsub?”  
“Only the basics of the case. I saw the last kill on the news. It sounded familiar and that’s when I called you guys.”  
“This killer is not just targeting one family. He’s targeting their friends and relatives. So far, he’s killed his target’s mothers, fathers, siblings, and friends. He’s already killed one of the Campbell’s close friends and unless we stop him, he will kill another tonight. Dean and Castiel are already in protective custody, but you and your husband may need to enter it as well.”   
“What? What about their other friends? Sam’s best friend, Tammy. She’s only seventeen, or what about Dean’s employee’s, Cas’ coworkers, Jakes’ teachers, and Katy’s friend’s parents? Are they all at risk? How are we supposed to protect all of them?”  
“We can’t. Not all of them, but it’s unlikely that our unsub will target someone that isn’t very close to the family.”  
“And taking us out of the line of fire, is that gonna put someone else in it?”   
“Maybe. This unsub is organized and suffering a religious psychosis. He has a plan and if we can disrupt that plan, we have a better chance of catching him. Given that the Campbell’s have no other living relatives, that leaves you and your husband as the most likely next victims. The level of narcissism is enough that he won’t have a backup plan. So, getting you out of the line of fire may very well be the key to saving their lives and yours.” 

At the house, Morgan and Reid were in the kitchen while Dean began dinner. “So what? With this protection crap, we can’t leave the house?”   
“Not exactly, you follow your work and school schedules, but it’s safer if you don’t attend extracurricular activities and community events. The less your family is in public, the less time the unsub has to watch them.” Reid explained from his post at the counter.   
“Makes sense I guess, but how do we know he’s not watching the house.”  
“We’ve got our own men posted around the house. We’re doing everything we can to protect your family.” Morgan cut in.   
Dean just snorted at that. Honestly, this wasn’t the most deadly thing that they had come up against. Hell, Sammy took down the devil once, but that didn’t make any of this any less terrifying. Angels had a plan and they stuck to. People? People were unpredictable. People were crazy and they didn’t make any sense to Dean. Even having the rest of his family out of his sight while they finished homework and got ready for dinner was nerve racking. Dean shook his head and tried to clear his head of the increasingly gruesome thoughts that seemed to flit through his head of their own accord.   
Reid watched Dean as he seemed to tense and relax sporadically. He’d watched families go through things like this far too often, but he’d never seen one be so collectively calm about this. Dean was making dinner without so much as a hint of fear. Castiel and the children were all upstairs out of site and out of minds. He’d seen many families refuse to leave an interrogation room inside the relative safety of the police station without a member of their family. Why were the Campbells so calm?  
Before Reid had time to think further on the matter, Dean yelled up the stairs. “Ben, come set the table.” A moment later the boy came in glaring at his father and tore the cabinet open before stomping to the small table in the kitchen and haphazardly throwing the plates down before returning to the cabinet for the glasses. Before the boy could open the door, Dean was at his side and had his arm in a grip. It didn’t look particularly rough, but with tensions running so high, Reid was cautious. However, Dean simply leaned down and spoke quietly into the boy’s ear. Ben’s face flushed slightly and he looked back at the agents in embarrassment, then he nodded slowly and went back to setting the table at a much calmer pace and Reid sent him a reassuring smile when he looked back at them.   
Dean announced dinner a moment later and Sam came tumbling down the stairs with Jake on his back followed a moment later by Castiel who was being led by the hand by Katie. She was chattering happily and Castiel seemed to be completely immersed until they reached the kitchen where he turned to place a quick kiss on Dean’s cheek and grab the bowl of pasta off of the counter to carry to the table, and sent Katie ahead with the basket of rolls. He spoke with Dean for a moment before turning to the agents in their kitchen.   
“Will you be joining us for dinner?” The dark haired man asked them. Morgan looked at Reid questioningly. They only had about four hours before their replacement would arrive, but he hadn’t eaten since before they got on the jet and he doubted Reid had eaten today. As if in answer to the question and Morgan’s own thoughts, Reid’s stomach growled loudly and Dean responded for them.   
“Right, I’ll grab some extra plates. Sammy, you wanna grab a chair from the closet?” Sam stood and within a minute, they had set two more places at the small table and everyone sat including the agents.   
A few minutes into the meal, Jake spoke up. “Daddy, Popp, how come we don’t pray?” Dean froze for a moment and looked warily at the agents at his table.   
“Uhm, well, Jake,” Dean began. “ Uh, your poppa,” Dean looked to Castiel who nodded before he continued. “Your Poppa, he used to pray. He was in a… a very big church for a very long time and they, they didn’t like it much when me and him became friends.”   
“Why not?”   
“They thought your daddy was bad for me. They didn’t approve of… how close we got.”   
“You mean cause you fell in love, huh?” Katie cut in.   
“We didn’t know we were in love at first.” Dean explained still eyeing both Reid and Morgan carefully as if unsure what their reaction would be to this. “But yeah they didn’t like it when Poppa left for me, and for Sammy. They told him if he left he couldn’t come back.”   
“Is that when you married Poppa?” Jake asked eagerly as if this tale were some sort of fairy tale.   
“Not, quite yet, no.” Castiel spoke quietly but his voice carried all throughout the room. “You see, your daddy and I, we… we had a fight and Sammy was missing then. Dean went to stay with Lisa.”   
“That’s Ben’s momma right?” Katie asked all wide eyed curiosity. “Daddy, did you love Lisa?” The girl seemed scandalized to think that her daddy could ever love anybody else and to a nine year old, it made sense. Daddy and Poppa were always together. They were happy and lovey dovey and the idea that her Daddy could have loved some woman she’d never met was maddening.   
Again, Dean looked more than slightly uncomfortable having this conversation in front of the agents, especially because he couldn’t tell his children anything near the truth with the agents present. However, he couldn’t just not answer. He knew he’d never be able to lie to his kids and avoiding the question was just too close for comfort. “Yeah, baby, I did. I loved Lisa a lot. She was a wonderful woman and I don’t know where I would have been without her and Ben at that time, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love your poppa too. It just took me longer to figure it out with him.”   
“But how come you loved her? I thought you only get one love?”  
It was Sam that answered this time. “Katie, you can love a lot of different people in a lot of different ways, and you can fall in love a hundred times in your life. It’s not a one-time deal. Just like you loved your mommy and first daddy, right?” Katie nodded and Sam continued. “But you love your Daddy and Poppa too, right?” Again the girl nodded and Sam smiled triumphantly.   
Dean interrupted the. “Okay, I think that’s enough deep stuff for a lifetime. When’s your next game kiddo?” Dean asked Ben. The boy just shrugged and continued pushing his food around his plate and the tension in the room was palpable. A knock at the door saved the group from getting any more awkward. Dean rose to answer the door and he quirked a sardonic eyebrow at Morgan when the man got up with the obvious intention of following him.   
“I can answer my damn door without an escort.” Morgan just shrugged and followed Dean out of the room. Dean looked out the window to see two uniformed police officers before he opened the door, but before he allowed them in, he asked to see their id’s and upon his approval, they were allowed in. The changing of the guard was quick and efficient and Morgan and Reid turned to take their leave, but before they could get out the door, Morgan felt a tug on the back of his shirt. He turned to find Jake staring up at him and his parents standing in the doorway looking as confused as he felt.   
“Mr. Morgan?” The boy began.   
“What is it, kid?”   
“Are you guys gonna make sure nobody else gets hurt, cuz I know heaven is supposed to be nice and all but Daddy and Poppa don’t have a lot of friends and they gotta stay for a while.” Morgan looked back at the parents concerned and he saw a fierce look on Dean’s face as if daring him to lie to his son.   
Morgan swallowed hard before answering. “We’re gonna do our best.” Jake looked solemnly at him for a moment before turning on his heel and heading back to his parents. Morgan hoped beyond hope that they could save this kid from that kind of pain.


End file.
